UI Rendering Engine Segmentation for Cross-App Consistency

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional user interface (UI) development for electronic devices is cumbersome and labor-intensive, leading to inconsistent and visually unappealing UIs across applications, with applications responsible for both data and rendering, resulting in slowed rendering and compromised user experience.

Innovation Solution

A UI framework that separates UI visualization, logic, and data, allowing for a single UI rendering engine to interact with multiple applications, reducing UI-related code in applications and enabling seamless cross-application scenarios with improved graphical capabilities and customization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If applications are responsible for both data and rendering, then applications can independently manage their UI, but rendering performance deteriorates and user experience is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveapplication independenceVSAvoidrendering performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the UI system into distinct components: UI client engines that handle application logic and data, and a separate UI rendering engine that handles visualization. This segmentation allows applications to independently manage their data while the rendering engine optimizes visualization performance through specialized hardware acceleration and efficient resource management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a UI framework as an intermediary layer between applications and the rendering system. This framework includes UI client engines that act as mediators, translating application data into rendering instructions and managing the interaction between multiple applications and the shared rendering engine, thereby improving both application independence and rendering performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of manufacture

If each application has its own UI rendering code, then applications can be developed independently, but UI consistency across applications deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveapplication developmentVSAvoidUI consistency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a universal UI rendering engine that serves multiple applications with a common set of rendering capabilities and visualization rules. This rendering engine provides consistent UI appearance and behavior across different applications while allowing each application to independently provide its data through separate UI client engines.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The UI framework acts as an intermediary that enforces consistent rendering rules across all applications. The framework's rendering engine applies unified visualization standards, styles, and animations to data from different applications, ensuring UI consistency while allowing applications to be developed independently with their own data models.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If UI code is embedded in each application, then applications are self-contained, but maintenance complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveapplication self-containmentVSAvoidmaintenance complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts UI rendering code from individual applications and places it in a separate, shared UI rendering engine. This extraction reduces maintenance complexity by centralizing rendering logic in a single location that can be updated and optimized without modifying individual applications, while applications remain self-contained regarding their data and business logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the UI system into distinct layers: application logic layer (UI client engines), framework layer (rendering engine), and data layer. This segmentation allows each layer to be maintained independently, with applications remaining self-contained while the shared rendering engine reduces overall maintenance complexity through centralized management of visualization code.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2584463B1Method of rendering a user interface
Publication Date: 2017.09.13 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP2584463B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2584463B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2584463B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A user interface (UI) is presented in which a UI client engine is associated with an application, and a UI rendering engine is associated with the client engine. The UI client engine processes a client thread to manage a scene graph. The UI rendering engine receives the scene graph and data items associated with elements of the scene graph, and processes a rendering thread to render a UI in accordance with the scene graph and the data items, independently of further input from the client UI engine.